There have been 39 warnings from 8 countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union warning that anti-anxiety drugs cause harmful side effects. These include the following (note that some warnings cite more than one side effect, so the list below may not be equal to the total number of warnings):

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing death or increased risk of death

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing hostility or aggression

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing liver problems

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing newborn complications

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing risk of falls

1 warning on anti-anxiety drugs causing risk of fractures

Anti-anxiety Drug Studies:

There are 79 studies from 19 countries (Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States) showing that anti-anxiety drugs cause harmful side effects. These include the following (note that some studies cite more than one side effect, so the list below may not be equal to the total number of studies):

13 studies on anti-anxiety drugs causing death or increased risk of death

Anti-anxiety Drug Side Effects Reported to the FDA: There have been 35,110 Adverse Drug Reactions in connection with anti-anxiety drugs that have been reported to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (MedWatch), between 2004 and 2012.

The FDA estimates that less than 1% of all serious events are ever reported to it, so the actual number of side effects occurring are most certainly higher.